Folding cabinet.



E. P, NA GELL.

FOLDING CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED HAY2,1918.

1,283,543.- Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

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. Be i known that-I, ELIAS P. NAGELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, resident of Minneapolis, county of Hennepin, Stateof Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Cabinets,

of which thefollowing is a specification.

The, object of my invention is to provlde adisplav cabinet which can be opened to. eX-

'10 pose the goods therein at a suitable angle 'fordi'splay purposes or be closed to occupy a comparatively smallspace for storage when not in use. 7 y

A further object is to providea cabinet of the class describechmounted to unfold and expose its contents and at the same time present suitable advertising matter toview.

The invention consists generally in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming Fig. 4 is a plan view of the forward por tion of the cabinet when closed.

In the drawing, I have shown the base of the cabinet divided into sections 2 and 3 85 supported upon suitable caster wheels 1. These sections are of substantially the same size and shape and have upright, comparatively narrow panels 5 hinged together at 6 on vertical pivots at the front of the cabinet. At the rear of the cabinet similar panels 5 are provided and between these panels I provide doors 6 hinged at 7 to the rear panels and having finger grips 8 at their forward edges for convenience in opening and closing the doors. The panels 5 and 5 converge from the rear of the cabinet sectlons and are therefore in planes at an acute angle to the rear wall of the section and between the panels and doors and said rear wall, suit- Specification of Itetters Pateiit. i

romaine creme,

the sections and having their abutting ends pivotallyf joined together so'that the links may told when the cabinet is closed or. swing into alinement with each other when the cabinet is opened. Each section has a closed top .12, with inner edges in register with each other vwhen the cabinet is closed to' form a finished top therefor and'when the cabinet is opened, these closed top'swill swing apart and protect the top of each section'ag'ainst the entrance of dirt anddust therein.

,I prefer, to provide. each'top section 12 with advertising or display boards 13 and 14;, the former being hinged at 15ato the top 12, directly above thepanels 5 and-5, and the latter beingsimilarly hinged'above the door 6'. Normally these boards lie down flat upon the top sections. The .middle platel l Patented'Nov.5,. 1918;- Application fi1et1May2, 191s; Serial No. 232,0715 1 has its end edgesdapped by the adjacent edges ofthe plates .13 and these end platesv will be held in their raised position by the middle plate. For operating them I prefor: to provide a bell crank pivoted at 17'on the top 12. The lower arm of the crank is connected by a wire 18 to a corresponding arm of a similar bell crank on the other section of the case. When, therefore, the cabinet is opened, the pull of the wire on the arms will lift them and the advertising plates to the position shown in Fig. 3, where the advertising matter on the plates will be plainly visible to any one standing near the cabinet.

When the sections of the cabinet are separated, the contents of the shelving will be at such an angle that .the articles will be conspicuously displayed and attract cus' tomers. At such time the cabinet will gen erally be opened so that it can not be easily moved through an open door, but when such movement is desirable, the sections are swung inwardly to close the cabinet when it will assume the position shown in Fig. 4 and may be easily moved to different parts of the store or from one room to another, or from the store to the sidewalk.

It will be noted that the advertising plates on each section are in angular relation so that the advertising matter or a portion of it at least will be visible no matter from which direction a person may be approaching the cabinet.

The cabinet may be made in different sizes, according to the nature of the articles displayed and the quantity.

I claim as my invention:

1. A cabinet comprising base sections having upright, comparatively narrow panels at the front and rear thereof, the panels of the respective sections being mounted in converging planes, doors interposed between the panels of the sections, said doors and panels having glass lights therein and said sections having rear walls and horizontal shelving interposed between said walls and said panels and doors, the abutting vertical edges of the forward narrow panels of said sections being hinged together for swinging said sections outwardly to expose the contents of the cabinet or inwardly to contract the cabinet,

plates closing the tops of said sections and fitting edge to edge to form a closed top when the cabinet is closed, and means for limiting the relative outward movement of said sections.

2. A folding cabinet comprising upright sections having display panels and doors and shelving in the rear thereof, the forward abutting edges of said sections being hinged together for lateral movement on vertical pivots, advertising plates hinged at their lower edges on said sections and normally lying horizontally on the top thereof, bell cranks pivoted at a point intermediate to their ends in the tops of said sections and having one arm connected with said advertising plates and flexible'means connecting the other arms of said cranks, whereby opening of the cabinet will raise said plates and closing thereof will allow said plates to drop by gravity to an unexposed position.

3. A folding cabinet comprising upright scctionshaving their vertical abutting edges hinged together for relative movement on vertical pivots, said sections having comparatively narrow side panels in converging relation with respect to each other and door panels between them, advertising plates hinged at the top of said narrow panels and said door panels, said door panel plates projecting under the adjacent ends of said narrow panel plates for simultaneous upward movement, and all of them normally restin by gravity upon the top of the sections, bel cranks mounted in the tops of said sections and engaging said door panel plates, flexible means connecting said cnanks across the cabinet and operating to raise said door panel plates and said narrow panel. plates when the sections of the cabinet are separated.

In. witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 22d day of April, 1918.

ELIAS P. NAGELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents.

Washington, D. G. 

